2012 Focus Transmission Shaking

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by westgadawg

Hi Noemi, I sent in all the info and recieved a call and a case number from Ford. The only thing the guy was doing was a "go between" between me and the dealership...The car is now in the shop again second time with tranny issues, idle issues and the newest issue, on 3 different occassions while sitting at intersections the car looses all power...

Hi westgadawg,

Thanks for keeping me informed. I will contact you via PM about your case.

Thanks,

Noemi

[westgadawg]

Today is day 7 of the 2nd trip to service dept. Got a call from my service advisor yesterday and he told me they were replacing the tranny this time. He also said there were software issues with the car and they had to reprogram the car. At that time I told the service advisor I wanted the car returned and to get my money back per the lemon law. My reasons are with only 6000 miles on the car it has 2 trips to service dept for tranny repairs and replacement and the car has had to be reprogramed twice. Due to the fact the car will shut off without warning in the middle of a busy intersection is a safety hazard for anyone to drive this car. Yes they can reprogram the car but they cant guarantee it wont happen again. The service advisor notated my request. I also got a call from a Ford customer service rep that Noemi sends this info to. He is the "go between" guy that makes calls to my service advisor then calls me to tell me what they are doing to fix my car. Only thing with that is he is a dollar and a day late my service advisor keeps me informed on the progress of my car. I did bring up the subject of Ford returning my money on the car and he asked on what basis was that request. When I explained my displeasure with so much work having to be done on the car with only 6000 miles on it and also the safety aspect of the car shutting down for no explained reason. He told me Ford is only required to honor the warranty to fix or repair the car and not to lemon the car or return my money. He basically blew off the safty issues of the car but it was not his wife who was sitting in the middle of a major intersection with a car that was dead in the water with no idea what to do. When I reitterated this he read me that flash card he has on his desk that says Ford only has to honor the warranty to fix or repair the car to Fords satisfaction. As I have stated before my car is a lemon, there is not a person at Ford that would not be as pissed as I am if it were them. There are people that have purchased a 2012 Focus and have had no issues, they should consider themselves fortunate. As long as I am the owner of this car it will be my opinion that you should not walk away from this car but RUN. The Ford customer service rep let me know pretty quick Ford is only interested in protecting their bottom line and not my safety or satisfaction. The saga continues ...

[dan50]

Ford will not offer to buy the car back from you. Nor will any other manufacturer. If you think you have a Lemon Law claim, get your documentation together and talk it over with an attorney. I don't think Lemon Law claims are easy to substatiate, but they aren't impossible either.

A new transmission, though? Haven't heard that happening very often.

[westgadawg]

One of the attorneys I have spoken to has told me the same. He said Chevy and Toyota are the most willing to work with the customer than Ford. He said Ford realizes that most people dont have the funds nor the time to battle thru the court system. Also the lemon laws are vague. But he also said if it is documented that I feel like their is safety involved and something bad happens then Ford could be held responsible. He also said as long as I own the car I have the right to express my opinion of the car by paperwork and allowing people to see and hear the car. My car is a bad publicity issue for Ford.

[Polter$1246]

I have 2012 Focus and the thing shutters like crazy, I brought it back 4 times to dealer, each time they would update the computer shifting strategy based on latest ford service bulletin. The fifth time they replaced the transmission. Still shutters. I realize the transmission design is based on manual transmission but GUESS WHAT a brand new car should not SHUTTER, I now have 22,000 miles and can't stand it anymore. I guess Ford expects the avg consumer to be dumb and accept mediocre quality. I have owned hondas all my life and regret purchasing this inferior product. I am looking to trade it in for a real car (Honda or Toyota or Hyunida). It is such a shame but American cars BLOW

[Kaaru]

Hello there,

Add me to the list of very unhappy 2012 Ford Focus owner list. I too have tranny issues...I had the shudder issue and at 4832 Km, the tranny died on me...no more power went to the wheels...had to shift from Neutral to Drive, in order to have it limped back home. The dealer flashed the tranny software and did a 60 km road test with the car but the tranny still is VERY rough, clunky, jerky, noisy and there is a lag when I press the gaz pedal making the car lurch forward when driving in trafic conditions. Driving in snow and/or ice conditions with this kind of tranny issue had the anti slip system kicked in every time I tried to move forward from a stop sign or a green light, making me a nuisance in trafic.

This is my second 2012 Focus, the first one I had was a 2012 SE hatchback that lost all of its engine oil on day one, while going home from the dealer...could not get rid of the burnt oil smell, so I got a SEL Sedan (and paid a heck of a lot more for it) Now I am stuck with some kind of very expensive, mini luxury computerized transmission nightmare....and dont get me started on Mytouch and the dumb automatic wiper system that does whatever it wants to do...regardless of how much water/snow there is on the windshield...

The car went in at the dealers once, and since then I do not feel safe in this car, at all. I'm not happy at all.

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by westgadawg

Today is day 7 of the 2nd trip to service dept. Got a call from my service advisor yesterday and he told me they were replacing the tranny this time...

Hello westgadawg,

Thanks for your patience as the dealership works on your Focus.

Originally Posted by Polter$1246

I have 2012 Focus and the thing shutters like crazy, I brought it back 4 times to dealer...

Originally Posted by Kaaru

... I too have tranny issues...I had the shudder issue and at 4832 Km...

Hello Polter$1246 & Kaaru,

When you have a chance, send me a PM with the VIN, current mileage, as well as your personal and dealer contact info, and I'll escalate your concern to the Customer Service Manager in your area.

Thanks for your patience everyone!

Noemi

[dan50]

Originally Posted by FordCustomerService

Hello westgadawg,

Thanks for your patience as the dealership works on your Focus.




Hello Polter$1246 & Kaaru,

When you have a chance, send me a PM with the VIN, current mileage, as well as your personal and dealer contact info, and I'll escalate your concern to the Customer Service Manager in your area.

Thanks for your patience everyone!

Noemi

Noemi, I'm sure you realize it, but stories like this give even those of us who are pretty happy with their Focuses reason for concern. We know this is not a random sample of owners, but it still feels like way too many serious, related concerns even for a model in its first year of production. And I'm not even referring to MFT. There seems to be no "safe" mileage as problems (some of which are immobilizing) seemingly can pop up at any time.

Just hope this has Ford's attention, and if and when they come up with better solutions they won't forget to bring us pioneering 2012 Focus owners along.

[westgadawg]

I picked up my Focus at the dealership service dept on Fri. The car was only there 10 days this trip. The car now has a new transmission and all the software has been reprogramed once again. Is it fixed? Who knows. Ford doesn't know. They are just hoping at this point. Is the car safe? Will it shut down in the middle of traffic and an intersection again? Ford doesn't know. So what does Ford know? Ford knows they need to get these cars past the warranty period. Ford also knows the Lemon Law protects them and not the consumer. Ford also knows that the all new redesigned 2012 Ford Focus that they were counting on is a BUST. Ford chooses not to man-up and accept responsibility for putting these cars on the road. The Ford Customer Service Reps will tell you up front that they are only required to to abide by the warranty that is included when I signed the sales contract no matter how many trips I have to make to the service dept. My satisfaction was not part of the warranty. This is what I know. For as long as this car is in my possession It will be my advertisment to stay far away from the purchase of a 2012 Ford Focus. This 2012 Ford Focus is an unsafe car to drive, it is unreliable and the quality of this car is pittiful. I did not get what I paid for. Dont make the same mistake I did.

[Kaaru]

Noemi,

Id' like you to explain to me what kind of ''intervention'' you can provide regarding the transmission poor perfermance issue I have. Also, I see a language challenge lurking 'cause I am Montreal based and my dealer is french speaking, so am I by the way, so pardon the poor syntax or other english errors from my part. So, if you are proposing to act as an interface between my dealer and Ford, you'll need a translator..or a french Ford rep.

I have quite a beef regarding the current situation because I have paid top dollars not for 1, but 2 Focus's...and I feel cheated by Ford because I do not feel safe in that car. And for the first time in my life, I ask myself the same question when I sit in the car ''Am I going to get where I want to go this time? Is the thing going to die on me again??''

I mean, c'mon it's a brand new car...it only had 4832 Km on it, this is not acceptable and not reassuring at all. I should be trusting this car with my life, but I dont...and I cant afford to change cars...so I'm stuck with it.

I fell in love with the look of that car and the test car I rode, on 2 seperate occasions, was not displaying any transmission troubles and the ride was as smooth as butter.

So please, try to explain to me what you can do (or cannot) regarding this issue.

Thank you